Spring football roster?

[IndyValpo]

When our sports information department consisted of two very overworked/overstretched full-timers, and maybe one or two GAs/interns, what do you expect? I mean for most of this year, the sports info work was all Aaron Leavitt, now he has two GAs to help with some of the work, but they also have course work to do as well. Hopefully, the AD is looking around for another full-timer or two who can help Aaron on a regular basis. Can't expect to man a sports information department on one person's shoulders, with 19 sports to be dedicating time to. Also, we're now into a situation where many of our sports aren't just playing on the weekends. How often do you see the weekly schedule with multiple sports playing in one day? That's a lot of sports to cover at home, or on the road, to get all that information uploaded, commented on, and posted to the website, while also having to get media pieces put together for that day's game(s). I can't imagine this time of year is easy to work when you have baseball, softball, tennis, track, golf, all going, and having games at home to prepare for. Other schools have more than three people working in the sports info department, and definitely more than one full-timer.

That may indeed be the reason, still the site is disappointing.

[willy]

Why is there no mention of the April 20th spring game on the Valpo athletic website? Every school on the Pioneer Football league website except Valpo and Marist have a story or even video building excitement for their programs. Valpo is also one of the only schools with last years schedule and not the current seasons schedule up. I'm sure Coach Carlson is more worried about getting this years team prepared and ready for the upcoming season than anything else. Valpo's athletic department needs to step up their game! If its a staffing issue couldn't a sports management or marketing class take over the web design as a project? This might seem small but look at the PFL champions websites and see how marketing a team should be done! Lets go, Take some pride in our school!!!

Wow, ask and you shall receive!  Somebody at the sports information office must have heard this request. check out the link.  If I knew it was this easy to get things accomplished I would have asked sooner!http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2012-13/12587/crusaders-continue-2013-spring-practice/

[valpodad27]

sooo looking at the spring roster have we lost any key players? for some reason the link wont work for me

[IndyValpo]

Among players who played significant times, we only lost:

RB Ali-El
WR Anderson

Others who played some:
OL Scheerhorn
OL Taylor
WR Sicura
DL Brandt

A few others also are gone. All in all kudos to the staff and players for a really solid retention.

[valpotx]

Interesting that Ali-El is leaving, but he wasn't producing like some of the other backs.

[bbtds]

Other schools have more than three people working in the sports info department, and definitely more than one full-timer.

And there is the problem. Valpo just doesn't see the athletics department as needing $$$ for staff. The more we keep discussing this the more it can get under the skin. Why does Valpo keep trying to run a Div. I athletic dept on a Div. III budget. Fund for Div. I or do what setshot has been advocating for so long, move to Div. III. Stop trying to play the middle of the fence!

[covufan]

Among players who played significant times, we only lost:

RB Ali-El
WR Anderson

Others who played some:
OL Scheerhorn
OL Taylor
WR Sicura
DL Brandt

A few others also are gone. All in all kudos to the staff and players for a really solid retention.

Of the 9 OL from the two-deep prior to the last game, we're losing 4.  Of the 6 WR on the two-deep, we are losing 4.  Blocking schemes will be greatly needed this year if we are to do anything offensively. 

From the 7 DL from the two-deep (3 positions) we are losing 3, of which one is moving to OL.  Of the 8 LB from the two-deep, we are losing 3.  We are returning the entire secondary. 

Overall, having 73 players planning to return is good news.  If 3 to 5 of the incoming freshman can be impact players, we might have a chance for 4 or 5 victories. 

[VUdad]

Something positive must happen to keep so many players returning. But if many are in their 3rd season of significant action, is that reason for optimism? The same players running the same plays that have not worked well = eager opponents. Maybe the answers appear on the roster, if viewed from another angle than simply who played in past seasons. Worth thinking about...

[vu72]

Other schools have more than three people working in the sports info department, and definitely more than one full-timer.

And there is the problem. Valpo just doesn't see the athletics department as needing $$$ for staff. The more we keep discussing this the more it can get under the skin. Why does Valpo keep trying to run a Div. I athletic dept on a Div. III budget. Fund for Div. I or do what setshot has been advocating for so long, move to Div. III. Stop trying to play the middle of the fence!

While we all want more for Valpo, you do have to admire the results.  Pick the top spending school in the Horizon--athletically, whomever that might be and then see if they won four regular season titles last year, had three teams in the NCAA tourneys or even made the dance this year.  Stop complaining and applaud the effort.

And setshot?  Really??

[VULB#62]

Among players who played significant times, we only lost:

RB Ali-El {SO}
WR Anderson  {# 2 behind Gladney - SO}

Others who played some:
OL Scheerhorn {# 2 RT - FR}
OL Taylor {#2 RG - FR}
WR Sicura {#2  WR behind Bennet - FR}
DL Brandt  {#2 LDE - SO}

A few others also are gone. All in all kudos to the staff and players for a really solid retention.

Also, Sterling Summerville will graduate and leave a year of eligibility on the table.  Ballpark breakdown of eligibility status on the returnees: about 39 freshmen, 24 sophs, 4 juniors and 4 seniors.  Not too much in the way of mature leadership, but some good experience among the youngsters.

[IndyValpo]

Of the 9 OL from the two-deep prior to the last game, we're losing 4.  Of the 6 WR on the two-deep, we are losing 4.  Blocking schemes will be greatly needed this year if we are to do anything offensively.

We really only played about 7 OL last year and the five that started most games are back, plus we Cook a 2 year starter back from injury. We return 3 WR's who caught a decent amount of passes last year

[bbtds]

Other schools have more than three people working in the sports info department, and definitely more than one full-timer.

And there is the problem. Valpo just doesn't see the athletics department as needing $$$ for staff. The more we keep discussing this the more it can get under the skin. Why does Valpo keep trying to run a Div. I athletic dept on a Div. III budget. Fund for Div. I or do what setshot has been advocating for so long, move to Div. III. Stop trying to play the middle of the fence!

While we all want more for Valpo, you do have to admire the results.  Pick the top spending school in the Horizon--athletically, whomever that might be and then see if they won four regular season titles last year, had three teams in the NCAA tourneys or even made the dance this year.  Stop complaining and applaud the effort.

And setshot?  Really??

Why?  Why should setshot be happy with what they do with the money he does give (which, as I understand it, is much more than most people on this board) because they can get so much done with the poor funding. How much more would alumni, like setshot, give if their alma mater actually saw the correct value in athletics for growing the school, which is a goal of the current board. By being happy with the effort of the university toward athletics we are fueling the mediocrity of the school and keeping Valpo in it's present state which is about 4,000 to 4,500 students. All the while wasting the dedication of Homer Drew and Bryce Drew towards Valpo which could have propelled the university to the 6,000 student level much sooner which is desired by the board. It is time to GET OFF THE FENCE and see the value of athletics to meet Valpo's goals.

[usc4valpo]

Agreed, b

Other schools have more than three people working in the sports info department, and definitely more than one full-timer.

And there is the problem. Valpo just doesn't see the athletics department as needing $$$ for staff. The more we keep discussing this the more it can get under the skin. Why does Valpo keep trying to run a Div. I athletic dept on a Div. III budget. Fund for Div. I or do what setshot has been advocating for so long, move to Div. III. Stop trying to play the middle of the fence!

While we all want more for Valpo, you do have to admire the results. Pick the top spending school in the Horizon--athletically, whomever that might be and then see if they won four regular season titles last year, had three teams in the NCAA tourneys or even made the dance this year. Stop complaining and applaud the effort. And setshot? Really?

I agree, but if we are looking to join the MVC, we will need more staffing.

[historyman]

Why?  Why should setshot be happy with what they do with the money he does give (which, as I understand it, is much more than most people on this board) because they can get so much done with the poor funding. How much more would alumni, like setshot, give if their alma mater actually saw the correct value in athletics for growing the school, which is a goal of the current board. By being happy with the effort of the university toward athletics we are fueling the mediocrity of the school and keeping Valpo in it's present state which is about 4,000 to 4,500 students. All the while wasting the dedication of Homer Drew and Bryce Drew towards Valpo which could have propelled the university to the 6,000 student level much sooner which is desired by the board. It is time to GET OFF THE FENCE and see the value of athletics to meet Valpo's goals.

I will agree with this up to a point. I don't believe that the Valpo board of directors wants to see the university meet it's goals through the athletic department. They must feel that the vision of Dick Koenig, to have Valpo become a successful Div. I university, was admirable but not the ultimate vehicle for getting Valpo to a level academically that the BoD envisioned. I don't believe the BoD wants to be known throughout the country "only" as an athletic school. The BoD sees Valpo as Henry Baker Brown did, an academic institution that entices some of the greatest minds in the world to it's campus to create world leaders and thinkers who are very successful people in the world economy. The Lutheran Church aspect was added in 1926 when the Lutheran laymen leaders from Fort Wayne bought Valpo with the purpose of keeping it from becoming a KKK institution along the lines of what the Indiana Grand Dragon saw as a KKK Purdue. The Lutheran laymen from Fort Wayne saw Valpo  as a way for a christian leadership group to become highly educated and lead the world from a protestant view of the world. These highly educated Lutheran layman leaders did not see church leaders running the world but highly educated Lutheran laymen. This was a first in the Lutheran view of the world. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States (the first state in the other states being Indiana) had seen what their church clergy had done in worldly matters and what it had done to their Lutheran communities. They saw a great need for educating not only in church doctrine but also in christian ethics of how to be leaders in the world.

There were some within the German Lutheran community who saw athletics as a way to prepare the body for the physical demands of working in the world. But they never saw athletics as being a way to grow to the goals of a university. This is still very very true today among the BoD of Valparaiso University. I don't believe this is going to change in the near future. These Lutheran university leaders don't want their "dear old Valpo" to be known solely as an athletic school.

From wikipedia: The Valparaiso football program was started in 1919, as prior to this point the administration believed athletics were a distraction from academic pursuits. The Crusaders basketball program began in 1917.

No matter the efforts of Dick Koenig, Bill Steinbrecher, Homer Drew, Bryce Drew, Em Bauer, Walt Reiner, Bill Koch, Rod Moore, George Keogan (first Valpo basketball and football coach who also started the programs at Notre Dame and Saint Louis), and many many others the BoD just doesn't want Valpo to be known as an athletic institution.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I don't believe the BoD wants to be known throughout the country "only" as an athletic school.

I guess I wouldn't disagree with them at that.  The way you phrased it later

the BoD just doesn't want Valpo to be known as an athletic institution.

I guess I would disagree with, though. 

It's where you put the "just" that makes all the difference:  I really disagree with the latter, but simply move the "just" four words down to between the infinitive, and I would vehemently support such a BoD.  Interesting...

[bbtds]

A quote from the SLU message board:

I had a meeting once with two academians at Rutgers involved with the National Research Council.  Their offices overlooked the Rutgers practice field and they spent a considerable amount of time backstabbing just about all athletes, lamenting the incredibly stupid loss of tuition and scholarship monies given to guys "who win like two games a year."  I kind of suspect most of academia thinks this way.  Including some academic presidents (not identifying any names). (of course, referring to SLU president, Biondi)

[usc4valpo]

wh

Among players who played significant times, we only lost: RB Ali-El {SO} WR Anderson {# 2 behind Gladney - SO} Others who played some: OL Scheerhorn {# 2 RT - FR} OL Taylor {#2 RG - FR} WR Sicura {#2 WR behind Bennet - FR} DL Brandt {#2 LDE - SO} A few others also are gone. All in all kudos to the staff and players for a really solid retention.

Also, Sterling Summerville will graduate and leave a year of eligibility on the table. Ballpark breakdown of eligibility status on the returnees: about 39 freshmen, 24 sophs, 4 juniors and 4 seniors. Not too much in the way of mature leadership, but some good experience among the youngsters.

Why are there ony 4 seniors and 4 juniors?  Is the Pioneer football conference usually like this regarding the low retention rate?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

the incredibly stupid loss of tuition and scholarship monies

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that the GAIN of money for the university?

I.e., the scholarships are paid in full from the athletic department to the university?

Wouldn't be the first time eggheads were flat-out wrong...

[bbtds]

the incredibly stupid loss of tuition and scholarship monies

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that the GAIN of money for the university?

I.e., the scholarships are paid in full from the athletic department to the university?

Wouldn't be the first time eggheads were flat-out wrong...

I believe the thinking (NOT my thinking) is that any money diverted to the athletic department is wasted and could have been used on academic scholarships. If you don't have an AD you have more money for other areas at a university. Do you need some math to go with this so you understand? You academics are all the same!     

[LaPorteAveApostle]

I believe the thinking (NOT my thinking) is that any money diverted to the athletic department is wasted and could have been used on academic scholarships.

Well, my experience must be colored by Michigan--and while I know they can't be the only school that does this, I also know that many other schools must not be able to avoid funding their athletic departments.

So in that sense, yes, you're right.  At larger schools--and perhaps Rutgers may never get there--the athletic departments are a great source of revenue for the university as a whole in terms of scholarship moneys and the like.  Because they don't take any money from the school--they simply give and give.

Who better to consult than an egghead, right?

Some schools have independent athletic departments that support themselves, but the majority is [sic?] funded by the university.  Approximately 100 departments in Division I are "sucking money from the schools" (Rozin & Zegel, 2003).

"Circumstantial Factors and Institutions' Outsourcing Decisions On Marketing Operations" (p.599), Willie J. Burden and Ming Li, from The Business of Sports, second edition, ed. Scott R. Rosner and Kenneth L. Shropshire.  Sudbury, MA:  Jones & Bartlett, 2012.